The present invention relates to an electrical switch designed to break an electrical circuit the switch comprising an elongated vacuum cartridge with a cylindrical enclosure blanked off by two end-plates, in which there are housed two arcing contacts, one, stationary, of which is fixedly secured to one of the above-mentioned end-plates whereas the other, movable, is mounted axially slidingly inside the cartridge, and at least one coil designed to produce an axial magnetic field in the arc formation zone, said coil comprising a first end electrically connected to one of the above-mentioned arcing contacts and a second end arranged as a current conducting strip.
A known circuit breaker (document FR-2,682,808) of the kind mentioned comprises a ring-shaped coil placed in an annular housing formed by the end-plate associated to the coil in such a way that the coil is arranged coaxially outside the cartridge facing the separation gap of the arcing contacts. One of the ends of the coil is mechanically secured and electrically connected to the stationary arcing contact, whereas the other end is electrically connected to a current conducting strip while being electrically isolated from the stationary arcing contact. One of the drawbacks of this type of circuit breaker lies in the fact that as the coil is connected in series with the arcing contacts, the whole of the main current flows through the coil. This results in a coil of large cross-section having to be fitted, which therefore presents considerable overall dimensions.